


What I Got

by western_front



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Super Sons (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:27:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24178921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/western_front/pseuds/western_front
Summary: Jon is just the pothead Damian met in the park, but for the life of him, he can’t seem to get that cute smile out of his head.
Relationships: Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne
Comments: 13
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic, so any critiques are very much welcomed. This fic is going to heavily rely on songs, so I’ll always put the song name here (if anyone is interested) and yeah... enjoy :)  
> Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking the Girl

For all Damian loved his family, sometimes their presence just felt too suffocating. Grayson was the worst when it came to the smothering, and Todd tended to be just as irritating when he went into overprotective big brother mode. Drake was usually the least annoying, but that was mostly because he was always too tired to actually antagonize Damian. The poor teenager just never let himself get enough sleep, always postponing it to do schoolwork or school-related activities. 

However, it was today that all three brothers were getting on Damian’s nerves exceptionally so. Grayson was doting like a mother hen (but then again, what’s new about that), Todd was throwing a tantrum over not knowing that Drake had a significant other, and, somehow, Drake found the energy to get into an argument over it with Todd. All that to say that it was an emotional clusterfuck in Wayne Manor, and Damian wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. And, that was how Damian found himself taking the subway all the way to Metropolis. A place he felt more connected to.

Although it may come as a shocker, Damian had actually never really taken to Gotham and its griminess, and instead, preferred sunnier places like Metropolis as it often reminded him of his time living with his mother. But, of course, Damian never told his Gotham bred brothers this. They would probably only make the situation worse and try to force him to spend more time in Gotham until he was as fond of the city as his brothers were. It was not like Damian hadn't tried to give the dreary city a chance, it just had never grown on him. He always longed for less-polluted air, warmer temperatures, and a desert landscape rather than one filled with skyscrapers. He longed for a simpler time where he wasn’t billionaire, socialite Bruce Wayne’s son, and the paparazzi felt no inclination to photograph his entire life. He just longed for any semblance of his first home.

And, it just so happened that Metropolis was the closest he got to that. While it didn't have the desert landscaped Damian had grown up with, it was warmer, the air felt cleaner, and the paparazzi never noticed him. Why would they? A Wayne boy going to rival city Metropolis was practically unheard of. 

Damian theorized that it also helped that he almost always wore a hoodie with giant shades. While the likelihood of the paparazzi noticing him in Metropolis were slim, he always strived to make that chance even slimmer.

Today, as he often did, Damian enjoyed a walk in the city’s biggest park and some nice downtime basking in the sun that Gotham too frequently covered up with angry clouds. As lame as it may sound, the city park felt like his home away from home. He even went so habitually that most of the vendors recognized him and greeted him with a kind smile whenever he passed them. Most, if not all, probably thought he was a Metropolis native. It used to give him a good chuckle whenever they tried to start up a conversation about things only a local would get. However, after a certain amount of time, he started to gain some ground on what was going on in the little downtown area of Metropolis in which the park inhabited: like what new stores were opening up and which cafe had the best cinnamon rolls. At any given time, he could probably tell somebody more about what was up and about in the little corner of Metropolis that he cherished so much than in Gotham.

Of course, no one ever asked him about what new stores were opening up and which cafe had the best cinnamon rolls in Metropolis. No one even knew about his frequent trips to the city of the future, mostly because he didn’t want anybody to know. At first, it was because he wasn’t comfortable with telling his family about his homesickness, but after a while, it became clear that he didn’t want to share his little slice of heaven. The city park became a place where he could be alone, clear his thoughts, and find a couple hours of peace.

Despite it being a public park, it was a place that felt like his. Too often did things wanted to be shared in the manor. Rather they were feelings or time, his family always wanted to share it together, and as an only child for 16 years of his life, that hadn’t sat well with Damian. He just wasn’t used to the connections that his family wanted out of him. All of his brothers had come way before their teen years when they were put under his father’s care, so they had a chance to actually grow up with his father as their dad. Poor Drake wasn’t even old enough to remember his parents, and so when his father came, he was more than eager to give the title of dad to him. By the time Damian had come, he had already done most of his growing up, and he couldn’t help but feel that he missed out on something vital on what it meant to be a son of Bruce Wayne. Those crucial years of innocence hadn’t been spent with father but with his mother. And in turn, saw his father as more of a stranger than a parent.

It would break his father’s heart if he ever heard his thoughts, and that’s why he kept coming to Metropolis CIty Park. It kept him grounded and not ready to burst at the seams with emotions every time things at the manor got too unbearable. It was a place we’re thoughts were sorted, so he didn’t hurt anyone else’s feelings.

Although as the visits became more and more common, Damian did have to come up with more creative excuses of his whereabouts. Usually, he could get away with saying that he was walking through the manor’s gardens (considering how vast it was, it was a believable excuse), but sometimes that didn’t cut it. Other times he would say he was at the local museum or at a made-up friend’s house. Although when he did say he was at a “friend’s” house, he knew he was playing a dangerous game as his family would soon want to meet one of these so-called “friends”.

He also knew that it heavily worried his family when they realized that his only friend before his big move was his mother. It also stressed them out even more when they found out that for his entire life he was homeschooled, leaving very little chance for him to interact with just about anyone. So, what was so wrong with indulging his family with these illusions of friendships, it was win-win for both of them. He could get them off his backs, and they could live their lives thinking he wasn’t as lonely as he truly was.

However, that was a crisis for another day. Today, he was just going to relish in the summer air and maybe get some cotton candy if he got hungry enough. But, of course, that didn’t happen. Instead, quite the opposite happened; his peaceful time at the park was interrupted by some pothead. Said pothead sat right next to him on the bench, like right next to him, like so close that their knees were practically touching each other. To be frank, it peeved the hell out of Damian.

Now let it be understood that Damian had and will never be the type of person to claim a whole bench for himself, but that does not mean he has no concept of personal space. For crying out loud, they were in a public place. People could sit wherever they wanted. But, at the same time, the entire bench was free except for the little corner Damian was taking up; there was no reason why the guy had to sit so close to him.

While Damian was having this little breakdown in his head, the other guy just smirked at him as if this was how he started all his Friday mornings.

“You’re uncomfortable,” he stated and not asked because the douche had the confidence of a fucking alpha lion.

“Umm...yeah.” Damian was a little flustered by how forward this guy was, and the stench of his clothes didn’t help him concentrate any better.

“Why?” Pothead with the Pretty Eyes, as Damian had dubbed him in his mind, questioned. 

Damian, not used to such questioning from a random stranger, kind of floundered for a bit before finally responding with, “...well, it is not normal for a person to sit so close to another person they hardly know.”

“Why though? I mean when did we get so uptight about our personal space. I swear this, this right here is why we have so much war.” 

Well, Damian thought that went from 0 to 100 real quick and made a face of discomfort to express his inner turmoil.

However, Damian’s distress definitely did not stop Pothead with the Pretty Eyes’ rant as he continued, “Like people rather be stuck in their own bubble then actually get to know the person next door or even the person a couple of feet away from them. Think of all the people who missed out on having a great friend in their lives just because it ain’t “normal” to talk to the dude in front of you in the grocery store. I’m telling you kid, it’s… it’s whack. For all I know, you could be my next best friend or like my soulmate--,” 

At this point, Damian felt the need to cut in, “First of all, I am pretty confident that I am older than you, and secondly, soulmates do not exist. What we consider love is just a mixture of dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine. Nothing more and nothing less.” Damian thought it was ridiculous that this kid was calling him kid. He had always known his features were a little boyish, but they weren’t that bad compared to this guy. His face, over the past year, had started to gain a more manlier structure while the guy next to looked like he couldn’t be older than 14. Although his height would make one think differently, as the smug bastard was huge. While he wasn’t bulky, he certainly towered over Damian’s measly height of 5’3 (5’4 if he was having a good day). He would guess his height to be 5’10 or maybe even 5’11. However his mental calculations were abruptly stopped when he realized that the guy hadn’t responded to his comments.

It turned out that his little speech had certainly shut up Pothead with the Pretty Eyes, as for a couple of seconds, he only stared at Damian in shock before bursting into hysterical laughter. Damian didn’t think what he said was even remotely funnier, but he guessed to each their own.

“Oh duuuude! You’re a fucking crack up. I like you man… you got your own thing going for you, ya know… like super headstrong. Don’t meet many of your type, but I guess I’m going to have to if I’m going to get more laughs like that,” Pothead with the Pretty Eyes had finally calmed down from his laughter fit, but still had laughing tears in his eyes by the end of his little ramble.

Damian, on the other hand, did not know how to feel. He couldn’t decide whether he had just gotten complimented or insulted. Like, sure, being called headstrong could definitely be seen as a compliment, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was being mocked for his words. This little turmoil must have really taken Damian out of it because the next thing he realized was that Pothead with the Pretty Eyes had wrapped an arm behind his back and was saying something that he didn’t catch.

“Um. What did you say?” Damian flushed a little bit. He was usually quite sharp, so it put him a bit at unease to be caught off guard. 

“Jon. My name is Jon,” Pothead with the Pretty Eyes supplied with another smug smirk.

“Oh… OH my name is uh Damian,” he said as if he was unsure if Damian was even his real name anymore. Damian was slowly losing brain cells, and he was not happy about it. He had never before been so flustered in his life, and he thought the feeling to be quite disagreeable. All he wanted was a couple hours of uninterrupted tranquility, but instead, some junkie decided to drop a very unwanted philosophy lesson on him. Although, he was a rather hot junkie… but that was a thought for another time.

“Well Dami, what do ya want to do? It’s summer vaca for most kids, so I assume you're free… OH! You gotta come busking with me. Dude you’re going to love it,” Jon said with so much excitement and determination in his voice that Damian knew, he just knew, that Jon would not take no for an answer. Nope. This was a demand and Damian would just be along for the ride. Damian didn’t even have time to ponder the new nickname he had been given.

Before Damian could even get a word or thought in, Jon had already grabbed his arm in one hand and a guitar case in another (which Damian wondered how he never noticed) and started racing across the park. Damian’s whole body filled with adrenaline as never before had he done something so spontaneously. He couldn’t tell whether the adrenaline was a good feeling or not, but decided not to think about it too much. He knew, whether he liked it or not, Jon would be spending the rest of the day with him. He was just one of those people, like Grayson, who wanted to be your best friend the second they met you. Damian knew he couldn’t fight a force like Jon, but that didn’t mean that it had to bode well with him. He would just have to suffer in silence.

Damian was very much a creature of habit, and ever since the death of his mother, this only became truer. His mental health barely survived the move to the manor, and while Grayson was working to help him relax more, that just wasn’t who he was. So to say the very least, these conflicting feelings were kind of tearing him apart.

Every fiber of his being was telling him to break out of Jon’s grasp and return to the calmness of the park, but at the same time, there was just something about Jon. While he was similar to Grayson, he also seemed like a whole different breed of person Damian had never encountered. He was so forward and unforgiving of who he was. He was just so intriguing.

Maybe it was because he was tired from all the emotions he faced this morning with his brothers, maybe it was because he was actually starting to get lonely in the world of isolation he was slowly building (for god’s sake, he knew not having any friends outside his family wasn’t healthy), or maybe it was because Jon was hot, but Damian allowed himself to be dragged through the park at speeds he didn’t even know he could run.

They ran through the park and then through Downtown Metropolis. It almost seemed that they would never stop running, and Damian internally thanked his school’s cross country team that his father forced him to join. If it wasn’t for them, his heart would have probably exploded.

Eventually, they did stop. When Damian finally caught his breath, he looked up to Jon to see that they were in front of an old record store called Vital Vinyl that Damian had heard about through the grapevine. 

“Oh… I have heard of this place before. I never visited myself, but I have been told it has an excellent selection,” Damian huffed out.

“Yeah, the owner is this cool dude named Craig. He and I sort of got a deal going on where I get to busk in front of his store from Friday to Saturday but work in his store from Monday to Thursday. He says I help bring in customers when I perform, but I know dude’s just got a soft spot for me” Jon says with a goofy smile, “But c’mon let me introduce you to Craig as I get my stuff out of the store and set it up.”

Damian just nodded his head, not knowing what else to add to the conversation.

“Hey C-Man! Come meet Dami, my bud. He’s gonna be my eye-candy for today’s performance and hopefully reel in some hot youths in here. God knows this place could use some fresh blood shopping in here. I’m gonna go get my stuff from the back,” Jon says with a carefree voice.

“Morning Jon-Boy. I was starting to wonder when you were gonna show up. And, nice to meet ya Dami, buddy of Jon,” Craig said in a teasing voice.

There it was again, that nickname. He didn’t know how he felt about it. He liked the way it sounded on Jon’s tongue, but not so much from someone else’s. Sooner rather than later, he just gave up on contemplating the endearment as he realized he hadn’t said anything back to Craig.

“.... pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he replies in a small but polite voice. After all, his mother did raise him to live by the code of manners.

“Ah you're a smarty pants. Never seen one of your type hang around Jon, but hell, that kid could befriend a rock, “ Craig says with a laugh.

Once again, Damian doesn’t get the chance to respond as Jon was already dragging him outside of the store to help him set up his gear. Damian mostly stood dumbly because he really knew next to nothing about how busking worked. He didn’t even know that Jon actually didn’t have a guitar but in fact, a bass. He even mocked offense when Damian said he couldn’t tell the difference. It was an overall weird experience, not because Damian just stared at Jon like a creep but that the silence they shared was actually quite comfortable. It was interesting to watch Jon fall into a rhythm of setting up and his mic and amp.

His brothers never took an interest in playing music and his mother never took him to any concerts, so this was his first time ever watching someone perform. It filled Damian with a little excitement which was weird considering that new experiences tended to freak him out. It was why he always declined when his brothers wanted to take him to concerts. Plus the idea of a giant crowd always scared him, but Damian decided that Jon’s gig would be the best of both worlds. He could experience a semi-concert but not at the expense of dealing with a large number of people.

After everything was plugged in, Jon began to test everything. He did a crappy impression of Danny Devito on the mic and then did a scale on his bass to ensure things were working in tip-top shape. While he did need to fix the mic, everything else was working fine.

“So, what do you usually perform?” Damian fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

“Mostly rock. Probably will start with some Red Hot Chilli Peppers covers and then maybe some other classic rock hits. I might perform some requests, but usually, I just play it by ear. Ya know, gauge audience members’ reactions and just go from there,” he said, not looking up as the plug was being a real pain to plugin.

“Cool,” he replied lamely. 

“You better believe your ass it’s cool, and lucky for you, you get to be part of the action. All you gotta do is sit by the case and be eye-candy. With two hot dudes in front of this store, business will be booming,” Jon chuckled. 

Once the mic started to work, Damian sat down and Jon put up a little sign with his name on it and his email in case people wanted to contact him for a future gig. After that, Jon jumped right in performing.

I am a man  
Cut from the know  
Rarely do friends  
Come and then go

She was a girl  
Soft but estranged  
We were the two  
Our lives rearranged

Feeling so good that day  
A feeling of love that day

Twisting and turning  
Your feelings are burning  
You’re breaking the girl

Damian didn’t know the song, but frankly, he didn’t know much about music in general. His mother had always been the type of parent to shelter their child, so his experience with the real world was quite limited. Todd had introduced him to a couple of cool musicians, but other than that, he was super out of touch with the world of music. 

But, he liked what Jon was playing and made a mental note to ask him for the name of the song afterwards. The song seemed sad, but had a beautiful melody. Additionally, Jon’s voice was actually very good and even a little hypnotic. The words of the song seemed to flow with such elegance when they left his lips and enchanted any pedestrian who happened to walk by, including him.

After a while, Jon had gathered a semi-decent crowd, and started to take requests. It was interesting to hear of all these new songs he likely would have never encountered if not for Jon. Eventually, Damian stopped paying attention to when a song would end and another would begin, and just opted to sway to the music with his eyes closed. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, and it absolutely enthralled him.

Before Damian even realized it, Jon was done for the day, and the sun was about to set. Damian had to do a double-take at the skyline as he couldn’t comprehend that he spent six full hours just listening to Jon play.

“SHIT!” Damian yelped as he realized how screwed he was. His family had probably been blowing up his phone worrying about where he went off. He usually didn’t tell them when he left, but most of the time, he was back before anyone could notice. Damian felt his stomach as he turned his phone off of ‘Do not Disturb’ mode and saw 27 missed calls from Grayson alone. There were even over 100 unread text messages from various family members. He was really in for it now.

“Hey you okay Dami?” Jon looked at him with concern, “You know not everyday you have a friend vibe to your music only for them to scream shit at the end.”

Damian got up quickly, “I must go immediately. I lost track of time, and I fear if I do not return home soon my family might send a whole search party after me. I uh… I really liked your performance. You are very talented, but I--.”

“Wait! Before you go, let me give you my number. Can’t have my future soulmate running off with no way of contacting me,” Jon teased as we pulled out a piece of paper and wrote his number down. If Damian wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was blushing now.

“There! Now I expect a text right when you get home, so I know you got there safe,” Jon adds a wink at the end and Damian swears his stomach does weird gymnastics. 

Damian just gulps, “Okay...bye.” 

Before Damian got the chance to say anything else stupid, he hears a little ping on his phone, and the reality of his life comes crashing down on him. Right, he’s screwed. With this in mind, Damian runs off into the sunset towards the closest subway entrance and lamely waves Jon a goodbye.

Once Damian had successfully gotten into one of the passenger cars, he collapsed onto one of the seats and checked to make sure he didn’t lose Jon’s number during his mad dash. While Jon is a strange one, Damian guesses that so is he, and that it’s better to be weird with a friend than alone. Grayson was really rubbing off on him.

After ensuring the safety of the number, he typed it into his contacts under the name Pothead with the Pretty Eyes. Damian thinks it’s a funny joke, but just in case, he puts the name Jon parentheses. Although he is a smart person, he doesn’t want to take any chances on forgetting his new friend’s name.

Not long though, his bliss is interrupted by another ping from his phone. The dread builds in his stomach as he sees that it is his father calling. Usually he can handle his brother’s lecturing, but his father takes his lectures to a whole new level. Damian doesn’t know if it’s a result of raising so many kids or that he has always been that way, but his father’s lectures can make any man quiver in their shoes.

He knows he’s going to regret it later, but for now, Damian clicks ‘Decline Call’. The punishment may be worse when he gets home, but for the hour and half long trip back to Gotham, he can relive the day he spent with his new friend.

Before he can convince himself not to, he texts Jon.

[Hello, it is Damian from earlier today. I enjoyed our time together and thought you were a really talented musician.]

Not expecting a response right away, Damian shut off his phone and closed his eyes. His little resting session doesn’t last long as only a couple seconds later he hears a ping.

{What’s up dude!!  
Thx for the praise ;P  
We should def hang out again bruh}

Reading Jon’s text was a lot like reading a drunk Grayson’s text: too many emoticons and weird abbreviations. Damian hated this form of texting but thought he could make an exception just this one time.

[I am fine. I am currently on my way home. Meeting up with you does sound fun. What do you have in mind?]

Jon was a fast tester.

{You, me, and the taco place next to the park and the library :D  
If ya a veggie boy they got meat free stuff too}

[I am vegan, so that sounds like a nice idea. When, might I inquire?]

{Tomorrow around 2}

Damian had to think about this for a minute. He definitely knew he was grounded, but maybe, just maybe, he could sneak out.

{Shoot  
Meant to say 2am}

Now this changed everything. Damian didn’t know how he felt about sneaking out in the middle of the night to hang with a near stranger for vegan tacos. After some thought, a quiet voice that sounded a little too similar to Grayson’s started to whisper small encouragements for him to say yes. Finally, Damian came to the decision that yes, he should sneak out in the middle of the night for vegan tacos with weird potheads. Truth be told, he didn’t have much to lose, and he was very very lonely.

[Okay. I will see you in approximately 8 and a half hours.]

{OoOoOoo big word  
See you then  
Gotta go rn and do some shenanigans  
See ik big words too ;)))}

Damian allowed a little giggle to escape his lips at Jon’s childlike antics and made his way into the connecting passenger car.

He still had about a half an hour left of his way back that he would take by subway and another half an hour he would take by cab. During that time, Damian mostly played games on his phone and people watched. That was one of the few hobbies he actually enjoyed. He liked to imagine the lives that they lived and would usually create an entire plot along with side characters, villains, and a love interest. The stories would vary from genre to genre but his favorites were action thrillers. They always excited him the most, and a lot of times, he could lose huge portions of his day just creating these fictional worlds.

By the time he had decided the motive for the villain in his latest soap opera, he realized he was only ten minutes away from Wayne Manor. Guilt and dread tore up his insides, but instead of letting it show, he schooled his features until they feigned indifference. 

Damian wasn’t one for outwardly expressing emotions and he certainly wasn’t going to start now. He would put on his big boy pants and face his family like a man.

The ten minutes passed faster than Damian would have liked, but by then, his mask of indifference was well built. He paid the cabbie and ran the remaining mile that was Wayne Manor’s front yard.

As he got closer to the closer to the front door, he heard the voices from inside get louder and louder. It would have scared him if he hadn’t already given himself a pep talk that he could do this. Once he got to the door, he took his keys out, and as quietly as possible, opened the door. Life inside the manor seemed to freeze the minute he stepped inside of it. Grayson seemed like he was on the verge of tears, Todd looked like he was about to strangle somebody, Drake just straight looked like he wasn’t having a good time, and his father was on the phone with the GCPD.

“... um, no I officer. I’m still here. Uh listen, call off everything. It seems that we won’t be needing to file that report. Sorry for wasting your time, and have a nice night,” his father said in an apologetic voice.

“DUDE! Where the fuck were you! We’ve been calling and texting you all day, and then, BAM, you pop on home all fine. We were worried sick you died or got kidnapped,” Todd smacked him in the back of his head. Todd was always the one to jump to the worst conclusions, mostly because he had spent some of his childhood living on the streets and had seen some traumatizing stuff.

“Hey! Don’t smack our baby brother. I’m sure there’s a reasonable answer to all this. C’’mon, go on and tell us,” Grayson said with a sweet smile even though his eyes stained red from crying betrayed the openness he was trying to convey.

Damian didn’t like having all the attention set on him, so he shortened his response as soon as possible. The quicker he gave them the answer, the quicker he could receive his punishment, and the quicker he could sleep. After all, he didn’t want to be tired when he saw Jon again.

“Uh… I went out and my phone died. I meant to call sooner, but I got lost,” he lied straight through his teeth. No one looked really convinced by his alibi either, but they were all too tired to care.

“Damian, we've gone over this before. You just can’t wander Gotham like that. It’s not safe. Look I’m just happy you’re home. We’ll decide your punishment tomorrow, but for now, just eat the dinner Alfred made you then go straight to your bedroom,” his father said in a stern voice, but before he left to eat his meal, his father brought him into a small hug. Next thing he knew, the rest of his brothers had also joined in, making a giant group hug. 

Damian appreciated the sentiment, but he made sure to get out of that debacle as quickly as possible. He wasn’t a touchy person, plain and simple. His mother had never been, so in turn, he never was either. Though, Jon had gripped his arm multiple times today and he never protested. He wondered why? What was so special about Jon, the boy who wore clothes that were worn down to their final threads, smelled strongly of marijuana, and had a really pretty voice.

These thoughts were still lingering as he set his alarm for his next adventure with Jon and fell asleep to one of the songs that Jon played that he was able to find. It was the one he started with, and for tonight, it was currently his favorite song.

Twisting and turning  
You’re feelings are burning  
You’re breaking the girl  
She meant you no harm

Think you’re so clever  
But now you must sever  
You’re breaking the girl  
He loves no one else


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl homies but finals have been kicking my ass which is why the chapter is late. I can't promise chapters every couple of day like I hoped, but I can promise one every week :) so yay!  
> Song: Maria Maria by Santana

Damian stirred awake to the soft buzz of his alarm clock and tiredly rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Once he got his bearings, he quickly turned off his alarm and mentally hyped himself up for the taxing venture that would be sneaking out of Wayne Manor.

“Envision your success, be your success,” Damian chanted under his breath. He remembered seeing the quote on a crappy poster in his principal’s office when he first transferred to Gotham Academy. Back then it seemed childish, and he only rolled his eyes at the sentiment. But looking back, he desperately wished there was some truth to those words as they were the only thing that was keeping from having a giant panic attack.

Firstly, Damian changed into the clothes he had set out for himself before he went to bed: a black turtleneck with a pair of grey slacks and a white Metropolis Monarchs cap (something he would likely never tell his family he bought). He didn’t know whether it was a date or not, so he wanted to dress a little nicer. Truth be told, he wouldn’t even know what to do with himself if it actually turned out to be a date. Sure, he had always had some inkling that he wasn’t the straightest, but to actually pursue that feeling seemed fairly daunting. He never even discussed his sexuality with anyone, it just seemed unnatural to share feelings at all. His mother was never open with her emotions, and he followed in her footsteps. She was loving, but Damian couldn’t ever recall a time where she actually said ‘I love you’. Some people might have been appalled to know she never said those words to him, but Damian knew she expressed them in her actions. Which, at the end of the day, is all that had mattered to him. With what little she had told him about her childhood, he knew she had a rough time growing up that was made no easier with her tyrant of a father. So, Damian had accepted her with all her rough edges and loved her dearly. Looking back, he was probably only the being that loved his mother, and gosh, what a sad truth that was.

Shaking his head out of his trance, which he noticed he was doing a lot lately, Damian popped some breath mints into his mouth and hurried to his bedroom window.

As he slowly opened his window, he internally thanked every god under the sun that he opted to take a bedroom on the first floor, much to the dismay of his brothers who all had bedrooms on the second floor. He knew his decision, to some degree, had offended his family. To his defense, it was a big change to have been thrusted into such a large family, and he needed as much space as possible to adjust. He was dealing with a lot when he first moved, and while his brothers had tried to be understanding, recalling what it was like when they had first moved in, none of them had the extra burden of dumb teenage hormones. 

Damian would be the first to admit that he was not the easiest to get along with when he originally was inducted into the Wayne family. He used to always be looking for a fight and insulted anybody who so much as glanced in his direction. All in all, it was an unpleasant period of transition in which everyone suffered. However, eventually Damian did calm down and apologize for his previous behavior. But, that was months ago, and he liked to leave those days in the past where they belonged.

Anyway, back to praying to every god under the sun, Damian had successfully fully opened his bedroom window. It was a painstakingly slow process, but he had to make sure it didn’t creak too loudly and wake up Alfred with his inhuman hearing. God, that man had a sixth sense for when one of the boys were going to do something stupid. Todd even theorized that he was a supernatural creature of some sort. Though, Todd thought everything was a conspiracy. 

With the window open, Damian awkwardly scrambled as quietly as humanly possible through the window, all the while cursing his short height. Damian knew he wasn’t the shortest, but the moronic architect that designed the house had thought it would be a good idea to make the windows impossibly high on the wall. The imbecile had clearly not taken into account the possibility of teenage boys needing a safe escape route when they snuck out to meet cute junkies for vegan tacos. Honestly, the nerve of some people. 

He landed with a hard thud as he had not actually anticipated the fall from the window sill to be so long. Once again, he cursed the architect for not only making windows impractically high on the walls but for having the audacity to make the backyard unleveled with the floors in the manor. 

After Damian dusted the dirt off his pants, he made a mad dash through the front yard and then to the pre-decided destination in which he requested the cabbie to be. He was pretty lucky that his father never checked his credit card charges or else Damian would be in some serious trouble. Truthfully, his father was so rich that a couple cab rides and subway tickets probably didn’t even register to him.

As soon as Damian got into the cab, he physically deflated in relief and told the cabbie where he wanted to go. From there on, it was smooth sailings. 

It was actually reasonably interesting to see Gotham at night if not a little scary. Damian was pretty sure he saw at least two different people get mugged, but he couldn’t be too sure due to the cabbie going at speeds he knew were definitely not legal. After tonight, Damian could definitely say that day and night of Gotham were completely different. While daytime in Gotham was dirty but bearable, nighttime just seemed like a bad fever dream. Teens were running around crazy and police sirens came from every direction. Considering the circumstances, Damian was rather thankful to be in a car with a driver who looked like he didn’t take shit from no one than walking along the streets.

When Damian finally got to the subway, which was actually moderately empty, he rushed to the closest passenger car that was heading to Metropolis, not wanting to leave anytime for him to be attacked by a Gothamite. Once he was settled onto a chair, he checked his watch and his eyes popped out a little. He couldn’t believe that he made it to the subway station in ten minutes flat. The trip usually took thirty to forty minutes due to the heavy traffic, but because of the late/early hours, said traffic ceased to exist. Damian hoped the subway trip would also take less time, anything to be in the safer streets of Metropolis.

Before Damian could think about his situation too much, he took to reading a book on his phone as he was not fortunate enough to be gifted with people in the same car as him to give a whole backstory with a unique world to. 

He was reading Elizabeth Gaskell’s  _ North and South _ , one of his mother’s favorites. Damiain had also taken to books like these since his mother practically read them every time he requested her to read him a bedtime story. While he always liked creating action packed stories, his favorite to read were period pieces, specifically romance stories. They reminded him of some of his best memories with his mother, when she was at her most calm and you couldn’t even tell that her mental health was deteriorating. However, he also liked them for them. They had a special charm that captivated Damian and made him soggy at the knees whenever the main characters would admit their feelings for each other. He knew he was giant sap when it came to these books, but that would never stop him enjoying them.

As Damian was nearing the part where Thorton first proposed, he realized that he had ten minutes before he would reach Metropolis. With that thought in mind, he decided to text Jon he would arrive shortly.

(I will see you shortly. I am only 10 minutes away.)

{hey dude :D

Can’t wait to see you!!!

I’ll be in front of the restaurant when ya get here}

Jon never ceased to amaze him at how quickly he would respond to his texts.

(Okay, until then.}

Damian gently shut off his phone and placed it back into his pants’ pocket. His life was certainly turning out to be fairly strange, and he wondered what his mother would have thought about his actions. She would have surely disapproved of him for being so reckless with a stranger, but something felt right about Jon. Maybe we would even give him a happy ending like the stories his mother always read to him, but that was only wishful thinking. However, Damian’s mothers probably thought he would end up being the Mr. Darcy or Edmund Bertram of his love life rather than the Elizabeth Bennett or Fanny Price he longed to actually be. But like all things that made him look inwards too much, he suppressed it: can’t hurt him if he doesn’t think it was his motto. Honestly, what he did best was clearing his mind and not actually dealing with the problem head on. 

With his thoughts set aside, Damian stepped off the passenger car and into the cleaner subway station. As he trekked up the stairs and into the nightlife of Metropolis, Damian was struck by the bright lights and loud noises. Except unlike the bright lights and loud noises from Gotham, these weren’t a result of the GCPD running about town. These were from what looked like a tiny music festival.

Shaking out of his gaze, he walked past the crowd, hoping to get away from so many people as soon as possible. Once he got past them, he quickly calmed himself down and walked towards the taco place. Eventually, he could even make out the silhouette of a Jon shaped figure.

“Hey there Dami!” Jon practically yelled as he approached.

Flushed over the excitement Jon was expressing over seeing little ol him, he stuttered his gretting, “H-hey J-jon.”

“Relax maaaaan. We’re going to have a great ass time. C’mon let’s order,” Jon said as he wrapped an arm around Damian’s lower back.

Damian immediately froze at the contact, but Jon didn’t seem to notice. If he had to guess, he would probably say Jon was too high to notice. It was weird being next to someone on drugs. Damian never even recalled being in the same room of any illegal substance in his life. He was just your classic case of sheltered homeschooled kid, through and through.

Damian tried to shrug off his discomfort with the contact and the drug thing, but before he could, Jon had pulled them to their table. The touching was abruptly stopped and Jon seemed a little more sobered up.

“Sooooo… who are you Dami? I mean it’s our second date, and I hardly don’t even know you! Honesty, what kind of gentleman am I?!” Jon yelped with mock shame.

And just like that, Jon once again made Damian speechless. The man truly had a gift.

“... date?”

“Date.”

“Second date?”

“Second date.”

Damian decided to just roll with it. Weirder and worst things have and will continue to happen, but this ‘second date’ with Jon wasn’t it.

“Well, I am 17 years old and am very fond of old romance novels… ?” he blurted out like his answer was a question.

Damian was internally face palming.

“Bro me too! I mean at 17. Reading is like a big no-no to me, so I rarely even look at books. But, yeah, can I get a wahoo for the almost adult club?,” Jon said with a chuckle.

“Wahoo…,” he replied with a lot less enthusiasm than Jon.

“Oh c’mon dude! Give me a real wahoo!” Jon wailed with a big smile that made Damian all soggy in the knees.

“Um… wAhoO,” he tried.

“Alright, I’ll take that for now, but just know, I will want a little more excitement next time,” Jon winked.

“Next time?” he questioned.

“Duh. I mean, dude, have you looked in the mirror recently because you are hot as hell. Only a fool would not want to spend more time with you,” Jon stated matter-of-factly. 

Damian was completely, one hundred percent, smittened. No one had ever complimented him in a suggestive way like Jon did, and Damian would be lying if he said he didn’t like it. Maybe he was affection starved or tired, but he absolutely relished in the feeling of being hit on. It was his first time, and he didn’t want to let this opportunity go. But, he knew in order to keep this thing with Jon going he had to flirt. Flirting was not his forte, but dammit, for Jon it would be worth it.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Damian tried to say as confidently as possible.

“Well, good cause trust me, you definitely gonna see more of me if I have to say anything about it,” Jon leaned in and told him straight to his face.

Damian gulped.

“Anywaaaaaays, what are ya gonna order. I recommend the burritos, like any of them. Not gonna lie, all their vegan options kind of go hard,” Jon shrugged.

“Go hard?” Damian furrowed his eyebrows.

“Yeah, ya know like they taste super good,” his blue-eyed companion replied casually while still checking out the menu.

“Oh. Sorry, I am not up to date with modern phrases,” he blushed. 

Jon looked up from his menu, “Dami you never gotta apologize for being ya cute self.”

Damian was mentally screaming because that was the most wholesome and sexy thing anybody had ever told. But, like the repressed gay he was, he kept his trapt shut about the comment.

Before either of them could break the silence he had awkwardly formed by not saying anything back, the waiter appeared and took their orders. Damian ordered the vegan burrito while Jon ordered a nachos dish.

“O-Okay. Um tell me about yourself. I know I told you a little bit about me, but what about you?” he asked, trying to start up the conversation again.

“Hmmmm my name is Jon and I love to play bass, but you already knew that… OH! I know! My favorite band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and I’m suuuuuuper ticklish,” Jon smiled.

Damian perked up when he heard the band’s name, “You played them yesterday as your first song. I really liked it, so when I got home I downloaded the song.”

Jon’s eyes turned the size as saucers, “Bruh you just forever earned a place in my heart. Anyone who likes the Red Hot Chili Peppers is like automatically a god-tier person in my book.”

“I mean I have only heard the songs you played by them, but from what I heard, they seem pretty cool,” he shrugged.

Jon was about to say something when their food was placed in front of them. Forgetting what he was about to say, Jon dug straight into his food and moaned.

“Now  _ that  _ goes hard.”

Damian ignored Jon's moaning and took a small bite from his burrito. While the food was delicious, he was still full from the meal Alfred had cooked for him. He felt a little guilty when he realized he would only eat a small portion of his plate.

For the rest of each other’s meal, neither of them felt the need to speak and a comfortable silence fell over them. It was quite nice and gave him some time for him to collect his cool even though he had none to begin with. Jon finished his nachos fairly quickly, and Damian soon tapped out after a couple more bites.

“Didn’t like it?” Jon asked while petting his stomach.

Damian shook his head and quickly responded, “No. No, I am still full from dinner. The burrito was scrumptious.”

“That’s good,” Jon smiled suggestively, “Let's go to pay and then the real fun can start.”

After they cleaned up their table, they walked to the counter to pay and ask for a doggy bag for his food.

“I got this,” Jon said as he pulled out his wallet.

“No let me pa-,” Damian tried pulling out his card.

Jon started to shake his head, “Nah man. I was the one who asked you out, so I’ll pay. Proper etiquette and all that shit, ya know.”

He was about to speak up again when Jon quickly slapped some bills on the counter and dashed out of the restaurant with Damian’s arm in his hand. He was going to start to protest when Jon clasped a hand over his mouth.

“Shhhhh. We’re gonna sneak into this festival.”

Damian looked at him in shock, “You can not be serious. That is illegal!”

He was starting to lose his cool. Never in his life had he broken the law, and he would like to keep it that way. 

“It’s only illegal if ya get caught. Now hurry. Security will only get suspicious if you look guilty sweetheart, ” Jon pecked his cheek.

Damian was left spluttering his response he had planned about the unethicality of not playing for tickets when his brain short circuited. 

Jon kissed him. 

Jon motherfucking last name he never gave, he should probably ask for it, kissed him on the check. And, of course, his checks were now as red as a tomato. Damian had never been kissed before, and naturally, it fried his physically touch starved brain. Even though it was a small peck that wasn’t even on the lips, he kept on replaying the scene in his mind. It was possibly the most intimate thing that had ever been done to him, and just his luck, it was by someone who didn’t care whether he broke the law. Grayson would probably be losing his shit if he knew about the people, well person, Damian was associating himself with. When did his life actually become like one of the stories he created in his mind? Okay, maybe he was being a little dramatic, but in his defense, this was the most dramatic thing to happen.

“Hey! Dude! Dami you with me!” Jon yelled over the loud music.

Jon’s words made him realize he had zoned out again. Damn, he really needed to stop doing that. It was starting to interfere with his sense of perception as he hadn’t even noticed that Jon had not only snuck them into the music festival but pushed them all the way near the stage. 

“Uh yeah,” was the only thing he could come up with.

Jon jumped excitedly, “Great man! Dude you’re gonna love these guys! They’re a Santana cover band!” 

Jon started to dance, well to Damian it looked more like he was just haphazardly flailing his lanky limbs. He only stood still, not knowing what to do with his body. By this hour into the night/morning, Damian was mentally exhausted and didn’t feel like doing much with his body.

The music was good, really good, but he couldn’t find himself to do anything. He didn’t even know how Jon found all the energy to continue dancing like a maniac. It must be another gift of his.

However, his tiredness completely evaporated almost the second the next song started. One moment the beat was playing and the next thing he knew Jon was grinding on him. Damian immediately almost fainted but regulated his breathing before he got the chance. All his senses were numbed, and his only focus was the body heat Jon was giving off. The rhythm Jon had established against his frame had him all hot and bothered. It was an amazing new feeling, and he knew he wanted more even with how nervous he was. Damian just had never seen somebody move their body the way Jon had and certainly never had seen someone move their body like that for him. It was a major turn on for him and filled his mind with dirty thoughts of what else Jon’s body could do.

While he often dubbed himself a repressed gay, Damian would actually say the term ‘pent up gay’ would be a better fit. Although he would always deny it, Damian was often ‘pent up’ with sexual thoughts. And for a long while, that’s how they stayed, just thoughts. That was until Jon waltz up into his life and literally put his crotch on Damian’s ass, turning him into a hot mess. In his defense, he was a teenager filled with teenage hormones, and Jon was stunning when sweat glistened on his porcelain skin. 

It was just that he never had an outlet for it or someone who triggered his sexual awakening. Yet, Jon was that person. He was Damian’s trigger, and once the awakening started, he didn’t want it to end. 

So, that was how, on their second date, Damian truly let loose and allowed Jon to continue grinding on him. He permitted the music to take over his body and decided to give Jon a run for his money by grinding back. 

“YES DAMI! EMBRACE YOUR SENSUALITY YOU SEXY BASTARD!” Jon exclaimed as he started to rub his hands up and down Damian’s sides.

Oh, Maria, Maria

She reminds me of a west side story

Growing up in Spanish Harlem

She's living the life just like a movie star

Oh, Maria, Maria

She fell in love in East L.A

To the sounds of the guitar, yeah, yeah

Played by Not los Santana 

Damian felt like he was on cloud 9 as the song continued and recognized that he didn’t want this feeling, whatever it was, to end. It was sweaty and hot. It was Jon’s shallow breaths down his neck as both of their bodies moved in perfect harmony to the music. It was Damian forgetting about his past and instead, living in the moment. It was perfect.

I said a la favella los colores

The streets are getting hotter

There is no water to put out the fire

Ni gota de esperanza

Se mira Maria on the corner

Thinking of ways to make it better

Then I looked up in the sky

Hoping of days of paradise

  
  


Yes, it was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is a shorter than what I would have liked, but I hope y'all enjoyed. And, like always comments are welcomes :D

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so first chapter... um I know it’s a little short, but I promise to TRY to make future chapters longer. Updates should be every couple of days and please leave comments :)


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